© The College of Estate Management 2010

Paper 0431V3-0

Technology development

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Triggers for construction development

3. Examples of technology development

3.1 Timber
3.2 The energy crisis and climate change

4. User demands

5. Research and development

6. Evaluation

7. Mechanisation

8. Summary
 Technology development Paper 0431 Page 3

1 Introduction
If a builder from 100 years ago were able to visit a modern housing estate, he might
be forgiven for thinking very little had changed. The bricklayers are still laying bricks
in the traditional way and the roof tiler is still placing tiles in much the same way that
the Victorian builders would have done.

If, however, he looked more closely at the construction that was going on he would
notice that considerable strides had been made in technology development. He would
notice, for example, the use of polythene damp-proof membranes, the use of mineral
fibre insulation, the use of unplasticised PVC window frames etc. To him these new
materials would appear strange.

This paper looks at how technology and technology processes evolve and the reasons
for their evolution. We shall also be looking at how it is possible to evaluate newly
developed materials, products and technology for use in modern construction.

2 Triggers for construction development

There are a number of incentives which prompt the development of new materials
and techniques.

1 Scarcity of materials
As materials become scarce or unsuitable for the use to which we want to put them, a
search for new or better materials will be triggered. Classic examples include the use
of Glulam beams as a substitute for raw timber because raw timber is no longer
available in sufficient sizes or length. Another example might be reconstructed stone.

2 Scarcity of labour
At various times in the history of construction there have been sudden scarcities of
labour. In 2004 there were serious problems in sourcing skilled labour, particularly
electricians and plumbers. To overcome this problem, processes and procedures have
been adapted so that less labour would be necessary. For example, we might improve
the mechanisation of a procedure, we might introduce components rather than raw
materials, and we might use more prefabricated systems such as rainscreen cladding,
composite beams, trussed rafters.

3 Economy or reducing costs

As the supply of natural materials decreases, then the cost tends to increase. In order
to offset these increased costs we may choose to use cheaper alternatives. For
example, instead of using plywood, which is quite expensive, we may choose to use
chipboard, which is considerably cheaper and yet will fulfil the function equally well.

4 Durability and maintenance

A considerable number of traditional materials and, indeed, traditional techniques
suffered from lack of durability or, conversely, high maintenance costs. In recent
years we have attempted to substitute alternative materials or procedures which will
reduce the maintenance or improve the durability. An example might be the use of
PVC cladding rather than sawn boarding. Further examples include improved
technology of paints, and fully plasticised synthetic plastic single-ply high
performance roofing systems, for example EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene
Monomer).
 Technology development Paper 0431 Page 4

5 Time demands or speed

An important change to our approach to construction over the last hundred years has
been the demand for speed in the construction of buildings. This demand can be
satisfied by increasing the amount of prefabrication used in construction. For
example, we might use precast concrete stairs rather than insitu stairs.

6 Quality expectations and demands

Many would argue that the buildings constructed a hundred years ago were of better
quality than the majority of those built today. In this paper it is not possible to go into
the reasons for this, but increasingly there are demands from society for better quality
in building design and construction. Coupled with this there is the need to be
conscious of the energy performance of buildings. These two factors together have
triggered a number of innovative developments that will ensure an acceptable quality
and achieve real energy savings.

7 Commercial gain
Manufacturers of materials and components will often seek to gain a commercial
edge over their competitors by investing in research that will develop improved or
less costly products. The changes necessary in order to make economic or
commercial gains may appear quite trivial, but they can result in significant
improvements in the market for the products.

Many of the items listed above act together or sympathetically. For example, if we are
to increase the mechanisation of buildings, then the materials or components we use
must be suitable for the use. In many cases the technology needs to change in order to
cope with the changes of components or systems. For example, PVC windows are
now widely used, but they are not built in as the traditional timber windows were.
This is to allow for the rather large expansion and contraction that these windows
undergo.

8 Sustainablity and environmental issues

By 2050 the world population will have grown by three billion. Along with man-
made environmental problems such as global warming and ozone depletion, this is
sufficient to lead the push into new technologies providing solutions for more ethical
and sustainable construction methods.
 Technology development Paper 0431 Page 5

3 Examples of technology development

3.1 Timber
When timber was plentiful, the waste that was generated was acceptable: it was
simply thrown away or burnt. It was also accepted that timber was limited in its
application because of defects.

These two problems could be overcome in a relatively simple way. If we laminated

the timber and then stuck it back together, we could produce plywood. If we took the
off-cuts of timber, stuck them together and veneered both sides, we could produce
blockboard, which was significantly better than the raw timber. If we took the
chippings or sawdust and glued that together, we could produce chipboard. By
grading the particles which arose from the machining of timber, we could produce
materials such as hardboard, softboard, and of course MDF boards.

3.2 The energy crisis and climate change

The energy crisis of the 1960s and 2004 meant that fuels became much more
expensive so that people were encouraged to reduce consumption. The obvious way
to reduce consumption was to install better insulation in homes and other buildings. A
hundred years ago the only insulation available was eel grass. This was quickly
replaced by fibreglass, but fibreglass suffered from the disadvantage of being
exceedingly irritant, and is now currently replaced with mineral fibre insulation.

Under the Kyoto agreement, EU governments made commitments to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5% below 1990 levels by 2010. Further momentum
was added to improving the effort by developing as well as developed countries at the
Copenhagen Climate Change Summit in 2009. This now drives the greenhouse gas
emission targets for many countries, including those in the EU. The UK has a
commitment to reduce greenhouse gases further than the Kyoto agreement to 80% of
the 1990 levels by 2050, and new initiatives to create a low carbon economy have
been designed to achieve this. Similar initiatives are being taken in other countries,
such as improving existing properties to reduce energy consumption and increasing
the value of sustainable practice in business.

In each of these examples the technology development was triggered by changes that
were going to occur anyway.

4 User demands
Only very rarely is technology development artificially induced. Building owners and
users are conscious of the current ‘fashions’ and will seek the application of
fashionable techniques and materials to their buildings. Technological development
may well be essential in order that the techniques or materials can be made to ‘fit’
into the design and construction of the particular building.
 Technology development Paper 0431 Page 6

5 Research and development

The need for proper research and development of new materials, components and
technologies was identified some considerable time ago. A number of bodies were set
up specifically to deal with research and development. Examples include TRADA –
the Timber Research and Development Association; EPSRC – The Engineering &
Physical Sciences Research Council; BRE – the Building Research Establishment,
etc.

FIGURE 1

The mission of the EPSRC will be:

To promote and support high-quality, strategic and applied research and related
postgraduate training in engineering and the physical sciences, placing special emphasis
on meeting the needs of the users of its research and training outputs, thereby enhancing
the United Kingdom’s industrila competitiveness and quality of life.

Each of these bodies, and many more like them, have a specific objective to bring
forward new and improved materials and methods that will improve the quality and
efficiency of the construction process, and hopefully reduce the time spent on
construction. Note that the primary objective is not necessarily to reduce costs.

6 Evaluation
Technology development is often so rapid that we have a problem in evaluating any
new and therefore untried and untested materials and processes that are introduced.
Long term acceptance testing is virtually impossible. How then are we able to accept
new materials and processing for use in modern construction? What criteria should
we adopt in order to determine the suitability of a material or process?

As a basic precept, a new material or process will be acceptable if:

 the body which has researched and developed or evaluated the material or
process has a background or tradition in the industry which is itself acceptable;
 the British Board of Agrément has checked or tested the material or procedure
and issued an Agrément Certificate.

You will note that British Standards are not mentioned: this is because the production
of a British Standard can take anything from 10 to 15 years, and clearly with new or
modern introductions it is not possible to wait this long.

What would we be looking for during the evaluation procedure? The following list
gives some ideas on how we would determine whether a material or procedure can
safely be incorporated into a modern construction.
 Technology development Paper 0431 Page 7

1. Suitability for the purpose.

Under this heading we will be looking to see whether the material or process is
what we need on this particular occasion.

2. Compatibility with other materials and or processes.

Under this heading we would be looking to see whether, particularly in the
case of new materials, the material will work comfortably alongside other
materials that we intend to use. In the case of processes we need to ensure that
the process will not interfere unduly with other site activities.

3. The complexity or simplicity of operation or use.

Here we will be looking to determine whether the procedure for the use of the
material or the operation is highly complex, meaning that we have to take on
particularly well trained staff, or whether it is simple to use and can be safely
put into the hands of unskilled labour.
4. The availability or supply of the material or process.
It is important during the construction process to know, particularly in the case
of materials, whether these are available off the shelf, whether they have to be
made to measure, or whether they are available only on specific order and long
term delivery. The same comment can apply to certain processes which are
carried out by a specialist subcontractor. For example, if the injection of a very
special damp-proof course material is undertaken by only one company in the
whole country, then clearly the delay incurred by offering work to that
particular company may be unacceptable.
5. The training necessary or available.
Under this heading we are looking at the way in which competence to use the
material or the process can be achieved. Is special training needed – and
indeed, is it available from the manufacturer or elsewhere? If it is available,
then how long will the training take? How long will we have to wait before the
trainee is available for work?
6. The similarity to or difference from other materials or processes.
In this case we would wish to compare the material or process with those that
we are currently using and consider whether the improvements are acceptable
or worthwhile.
7. Guarantees, warranties etc.
With any new material, component, or indeed process, we would look very
carefully at the guarantees or warranties that are offered and how these
guarantees and warranties may be affected by the way in which we intend to
use the material or process. We would also wish to consider the after-sales
services that are available. Is the supplier able to offer the necessary
maintenance, or is this the responsibility of the contractor or client?

The above list is not exhaustive. There are a number of other factors that need to be
considered in the evaluation process, depending upon the type of material or process
under consideration.
 Technology development Paper 0431 Page 8

7 Mechanisation
It has long been recognised that the construction industry features many activities and
processes that do not lend themselves to the level of mechanisation that can be
achieved by other industries. For example, attempts to introduce bricklaying
machines to reduce the labour-intensiveness of this activity have been rejected after
very short trials. The mechanisation of bricklaying is largely confined to the use of
concrete mixers for mortar production, and mechanical hoists to lift materials to
working height.

In other areas, considerable strides have been made in mechanising the industry. As
you will have seen in earlier studies, a wide range of mechanical plant has been
developed specifically for use in construction (excavators, tower cranes etc), and the
industry has been quick to adapt equipment for use on sites (fork lift trucks, lorry
loaders, etc). There have also been considerable advances in the development and use
of small powered tools, in part encouraged by a lively do-it-yourself market.

On the other hand, robotics has made very little impact on the industry. This may be
due in part to the itinerant nature of the industry and uniqueness of construction
projects, although many feel that construction managers distrust machines over which
they may have only limited control.

The biggest strides forward in the application of robotics to construction processes

have been made in Japan, where development of automated pipe-laying equipment,
tunnelling machines, demolition equipment etc have proved reasonably successful.
More recently, Japanese engineers have automated excavation plant to allow the
remote control of excavators working alongside a volcano, and this type of
automation is being successfully applied in the UK and elsewhere.

Although mechanisation may seem to be highly desirable in that it reduces the labour
content of an activity, it must be remembered that the materials and components
being used may have to be adapted or modified to allow the mechanisation to be fully
effective. For example, if we propose to use a cartridge-operated tool to fix timber to
concrete, then the timber must be thick enough and tough enough to prevent the
fastener pulling through, and the concrete must be thick enough and strong enough to
hold the fastening without splintering.

8 Summary
There is little doubt that technology development will continue, and will continue at a
pace. Using new materials and processes will of necessity lead to innovative design
and innovative technology solutions.

There are two things we should be very careful of:

 Firstly, never reject a new material or process simply because it is new.

 Secondly, we should never accept a new material or process until it has been
evaluated either independently or by the purchaser, using the guidelines set out
above.